


Heal What Has Been Hurt

by icarusmoon



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Eugene's POV, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, One Shot, Post-Tangled, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, not explicitly mentioned but nightmares imply PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22796284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icarusmoon/pseuds/icarusmoon
Summary: It’s as though his past is finally catching up to him, and no amount of Flynn Rider charm can keep the pain at bay.But that’s the problem: he isn’t Flynn Rider anymore. He’s Eugene Fitzherbert. And Eugene Fitzherbert has a mysterious past and a bruised heart and a princess he loves. He is almost scared by how much he loves her, because he has never felt this way about anyone or anything. He loves her with everything he is, and he would die for her a thousand times over.But he isn’t sure he knows how to live for her. He isn’t sure he knows how to heal her hurts, or love her the way she deserves to be loved. She is the sun, and he—Well. He hadn’t even considered the fact that she might have nightmares, too.(Or: Rapunzel and Eugene comfort each other throughout the night.)
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 14
Kudos: 153
Collections: oh YES





	Heal What Has Been Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at a fic in over a decade. I love these two with my whole heart, so I thought I'd write something cute about them taking care of one another. <3 Enjoy!

At first, Eugene doesn’t think the sleep talking is much cause for concern.

It’s just another one of Rapunzel’s quirks—like her freckles, or the way she squints while painting. It’s another reason to be madly in love with her, and Eugene stifles his laughter as his princess murmurs something incomprehensible. He’s about to head to his room for the rest of the night when Rapunzel starts muttering again.

“Flower...gleam and glow.”

Eugene frowns as Rapunzel reaches for hair that’s no longer there.

“Blondie?” he whispers.

“Let your power shine...save what has been lost. Bring back—bring back—”

_“Rapunzel.”_

This time, he gently touches Rapunzel’s shoulder. He knows she’s dreaming, but he doesn’t expect her to jolt awake. He doesn’t expect her to sit upright, or for her breaths to become short and ragged, or for tears to start streaming down her face. She looks around the room in a panic, as though she can’t remember where she is. When she finally sees Eugene, her eyes soften.

“Eugene! I—I was—I can’t—”

She lets out a sob and buries her face in Eugene’s arms. He feels horrible, because he should have expected this. He has nightmares, too—or at least, he does when he manages to fall asleep. He’s not exactly fond of the insomnia, but he’ll take it over the nightmares any day, because his nightmares are all the dreams he did not choose: the orphanage and thieving networks and places to hide. His nightmares are Rapunzel clawing her way to freedom and Gothel’s knife piercing his skin. It’s as though his past is finally catching up to him, and no amount of Flynn Rider charm can keep the pain at bay.  
  
But that’s the problem: he isn’t Flynn Rider anymore. He’s Eugene Fitzherbert. And Eugene Fitzherbert has a mysterious past and a bruised heart and a princess he loves. He is almost _scared_ by how much he loves her, because he has never felt this way about anyone or anything. He loves her with everything he is, and he would die for her a thousand times over.

But he isn’t sure he knows how to _live_ for her. He isn’t sure he knows how to heal her hurts, or love her the way she deserves to be loved. She is the sun, and he—

Well. He hadn’t even considered the fact that she might have nightmares, too.

“You’re safe, Rapunzel,” Eugene says, hoping his words are somewhat comforting. “It wasn’t real. I’m here, okay?”

Rapunzel nods and lets out another strangled sob. Eugene pulls her closer and kisses the top of her head.  
  
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks softly. He realizes it’s probably a stupid thing to ask. Who _wants_ to talk about things like this? To relive horrors they can’t control?  
  
Not Eugene Fitzherbert, that’s for sure.  
  
Rapunzel sits up and wipes her tears with the back of her hand. “Um...I don’t know.”  
  
“You don’t have to,” Eugene says in a rush. “I just thought—”  
  
Rapunzel nods again and lets out a deep breath. “It’s okay, Eugene. It was just a dream.” She winces. “A _horrible_ dream. I was back in my tower.”  
  
Eugene furrows his brow, and guilt burns inside his chest. How long had Rapunzel been having nightmares? Days? Months? Her whole life? What if he had left just a second before she started talking in her sleep? Would she have woken up, only to find herself terrified and all alone?  
  
He suddenly hates royalty and castle protocol.  
  
Not that anyone had told Eugene he _couldn’t_ stay in Rapunzel’s room. It was just heavily implied, considering that the king had given him a room on an entirely different floor and assigned guards outside Rapunzel’s door and glared at him any time the two got a little too close.  
  
And while Eugene finds all of it completely asinine (Rapunzel is _not_ fragile, no matter how many years she had spent in that damn tower), he tries to behave. The king and queen had taken him in, after all, and it doesn’t seem wise to piss off his future in-laws.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Blondie.” He reaches out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Are you...are you okay now?”  
  
Rapunzel looks up at him and smiles. “You know, I’m not blonde anymore. And I thought you had a thing for brunettes.”  
  
Eugene can’t help but smile back. ”Believe me, I do. But the nickname kind of stuck.”  
  
“I guess that’s acceptable,” Rapunzel says, rolling her eyes as she scoots closer. She rests her head on Eugene’s shoulder and closes her eyes. “I don’t know if I’m okay. I’m still a little shaken. But I’m better. You’re here.”  
  
Eugene bites his lip. He feels ill-equipped. He feels like he hasn’t done anything to help at all.  
  
“Do you have bad dreams often?”  
  
Rapunzel shrugs. “Not every night. But sometimes. If I do, I usually can’t fall back asleep, so I stay up and paint for a while. Sometimes Pascal tries to cheer me up, too, but I try not to wake him up.” She glances over at the sleeping chameleon and grins.  
  
Of course the _frog_ gets to stay.  
  
“I’m sorry, Blondie,” Eugene finally says. “I’m so, so sorry.”  
  
Rapunzel sits up again, and cocks her head. “For what?”  
  
He suddenly realizes he doesn’t know. He regrets not being there for her, obviously, and he hates that she has nightmares, too, but “sorry” doesn’t seem to cut it. Once again, he immediately regrets his choice of words.  
  
“Um,” he tries, “Everything?”  
  
Rapunzel laughs and kisses him on the cheek. She settles back onto his shoulder and lets out a contented sigh. “I love you, Eugene Fitzherbert.”  
  
“And I love you, Princess Rapunzel.”  
  
They stay silent for a while, clinging together and building a fortress that not even the worst of nightmares can touch. Rapunzel’s eyes eventually close, and Eugene doesn’t want to wake her _again_ , but he has a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. It’s nagging at him, this feeling. It’s the part of him that’s trying to soften all the rough edges and let love in. The part of him that’s learning how to be Eugene again.  
  
He takes a deep breath.  
  
“Blondie?”  
  
Rapunzel’s eyes flutter open. “Hmm?”  
  
“I have nightmares, too.”  
  
Rapunzel pulls back, looking at him with wide, horrified eyes. “Oh, _Eugene_.”  
  
“They’re...they’re awful.”  
  
And suddenly, it all comes pouring out: the sleepless nights and the horrible memories. He tells her that he dreams about the tower, too, and sees chains and knives and blood. By the end of what he is sure was an agonizingly long monologue, Rapunzel is holding him tightly.  
  
“We’ve gone through a lot together, haven’t we?” she asks quietly.  
  
Eugene snorts. “That’s one way of putting it, I suppose. I don’t know if you realize this, Blondie, but I died.”  
  
Rapunzel giggles and gives Eugene a kiss. “If you want to get technical, sure. You died.”  
  
Eugene is aghast. “There’s no ‘technical’ about it! I did die!”  
  
“But I saved you!” Rapunzel protests.  
  
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t die! You even told me you thought that I died!”  
  
Rapunzel cannot argue with this, and she knows it. She laughs again, and soon the two are laughing so hard they can hardly breathe. It’s the most beautiful sound, Eugene thinks. The most beautiful feeling.  
  
“Eugene? Maybe we should talk about something other than...you know. Dying.”  
  
“Just because you’re wrong doesn’t mean we have to stop talking about it.”  
  
Rapunzel rolls her eyes. “I just don’t think that’s the best thing to talk about before we fall back asleep.”  
  
Eugene begrudgingly agrees (He did die! And it was the most heroic thing he has ever done!), and asks her what she wants to talk about. She beams, and it practically fills the dark room with sunlight. She tells him about all the places she wants to see and the people she wants to meet. She gushes about the castle library and the paintings that adorn her walls.  
  
Eugene doesn’t paint, and he isn’t sure about his newer dreams. So, he tells her his favorite Flynnigan Rider stories. He tells her about the mischief he got into at the orphanage, and the first time he got caught stealing. He admits that the king makes him nervous, and she thinks that it’s the silliest thing she has ever heard.  
  
Eventually, the first sign of light peeks through the windows, and Eugene realizes that he should have made his way back to his room hours ago. He also realizes that he doesn’t care.  
  
Rapunzel revels in the fresh sunlight and plants an eager kiss to his lips. “Good morning, Eugene,” she says. “We made it. No nightmares.”  
  
“Yeah, Blondie,” he says, unable to hide his grin. “We did, didn’t we?”  
  
He can deal with the guards later.  
  
For now, he can enjoy the morning.


End file.
